Chapter 19: Flame

The door curtain was opened again, and the captain's wife held up an oil lamp and called out in a low voice, "Master Brody, Master Azuka, the night wind is quite cold - and there will be a sheriff nearby, so why don't you two come in."

"…Please just call me Professor."

Nova nodded slightly at her, then bent down and went into the cramped shack first.

The medicine was ready. The captain carefully scooped out a bowlful and fed it to his granddaughter bit by bit. Soon, although she was still in a coma, the girl's breathing became noticeably calmer and her body temperature began to drop.

The old woman was busy searching the house for food and clothing, but found only a pile of rags. She wiped her waist with her hands, stammering shamefully, "Those guys just trashed our house. Look, it's really terrible! There's not even any food or bedding left..."

She suddenly stood up and prepared to go out: "I'll go borrow some from my neighbors-"

"No need." The black-haired young man frowned and stopped her. He looked a little stern, and the old man couldn't help but flinch. Nova forced himself to soften his tone and said, "We've eaten on the boat before. No need to bother."

Fortunately, the God's Favored One quickly took over his duties. Her beautiful and gentle face easily put people at ease. "We also brought clothes, so it's okay to make do for one night. Don't worry, I will take good care of Professor."

They even pulled out two thin blankets from their luggage and spread their own cloak in a corner to insulate the damp wooden planks. The captain and his wife even tried to let them sleep on the only bed, but Nova, a grown man, couldn't afford to compete with a sick little girl for a bed, so he immediately refused.

The temperature in the harbor was quite chilly at night, but fortunately his sense of smell had been completely numb. The captain and his wife probably fell asleep in another corner. Nova wrapped himself tightly in the blanket, trying to hypnotize himself to sleep, but just as he was beginning to doze off, someone gently pushed his shoulder.

He opened his eyes with a frown, only to see the God-favored One squatting in front of him with a bowl of horrible, fishy-smelling medicine and a smile on his face, looking familiar.

Nova: “…”

"Professor, you should have a bowl too." The other party said softly in the Natalin language.

"...I don't think I'm in a coma?" The black-haired young man frowned in extreme resistance.

"Don't you feel it? You have a low fever." Azuka reached out and touched the other person's forehead - perhaps because of sleepiness or fatigue, the other person looked a little drowsy, and it took him a while to react and turned his head away, with half of his head buried in the blanket.

The days of traveling at sea and the mental strain were too much for the professor. As soon as he settled down, his body immediately protested.

The Lord Savior simply condescended to help the man up and handed the medicine directly to his enemy's mouth without question: "Please don't act like a spoiled child. If you continue like this, you will definitely develop a high fever tomorrow."

The God's Blessed One looked at him with that disapproving look again. Nova thought vaguely, "Neither of my parents in either world has ever disciplined me like this. Ugh, such a disgusting smell—and what had he said? Act like a spoiled child? What the hell is that guy doing? What the hell is he doing?..."

"Professor?" Azuka lowered his voice a little.

The figure wrapped in a blanket, with half-closed eyes and in a daze, finally moved. He held the medicine bowl and drank it obediently - Azuka noticed that the other party was wearing gloves when he fell asleep. He didn't know that the professor who could pinch insects and pull dragon hairs with his hands had mysophobia.

"I'm very sleepy, please shut up."

Before Azuka could think deeply, the other man had thrown the medicine bowl aside, wrapped himself tightly in the blanket, turned over and lay down, and said "good night" stiffly with his back to him.

The savior, who was at a loss whether to laugh or cry: "..."

"Okay, good night."

He sighed, pulled his blanket over him, and lay down beside the others. Azuka had often slept on the same mattress with his own people or friends before, but for some reason, tonight he couldn't sleep. In the darkness, he kept recalling fragments of memories: from past lives, from the comics, from the present, from his friends, his family, and his nemesis, the nemesis that was like a puzzle...

Those memories, whether pleasant or painful, rolled and boiled in his mind. Gradually, when he was almost falling into a complete sleep, he was awakened by the movement of the people beside him.

"……professor?"

Azuka called out softly. In the dim light that filtered through the cracks in the broken wood, he saw the black-haired young man curled up tightly in a fetal position, with the blanket thrown aside.

The man's brows were furrowed, his eyes were tightly closed, and a few weak moans escaped his throat uncontrollably. His hands were tightly clasped around his neck and shoulders, trying to scratch himself, as if to release the pain deep in his soul - but because of the gloves he was wearing, his fingers could only slide down weakly bit by bit.

Azuka quickly cast a wind barrier around the two of them. The weak yet incredibly strong draft didn't even stir up the dust between the planks. He first pushed tentatively, then whispered the other person's name several times. Seeing no response, he only tried more helplessly to hide himself. The exposed back of his neck clearly showed the jagged bones of his spine. The God-Favored One was silent for a moment, his blue eyes appearing particularly dark and deep in the night. After a long moment, he finally reached out and slowly embraced the person, carefully patting her back.

It seemed to have some effect. The Savior stared quietly at the smoke-blackened stains on the low ceiling. The gentle breeze muffled all other sounds, leaving only the sound of their two heartbeats: one steady and calm, the other rapid and chaotic. But gradually, the uneasy, wounded-animal-like trembling in his chest subsided, and the other's frown relaxed a little.

The only one-way communication between the savior and the villain was a single, unsigned letter that regularly appeared by his bedside. That person lurked in fragments of words, looming in phrases, and hidden in the awe and fear of others. He was an ominous nightmare, a manifestation of anger, pain, and humiliation, a god who questioned his origins, a desolate, cold moon.

But now his nemesis was so thin, fragile, and within reach, as if he would die at any moment. Only that slightly warm soul still comforted his heart - and the human soul could not be changed. Those slightly warm temperatures had passed under his sword, but at that time he did not even understand the price marked on them.

Azuka picked up a scattered blanket and wrapped the man again. The other man's breathing had completely calmed, and his fingers slid relaxedly across his arm. When his brows relaxed and his eyes closed, people were surprised to discover that the black-haired young man was indeed a striking young man. He always carried a strange, paranoid aloofness, as if existing in another, untouchable dimension, but the quiet, downcast arc of his eyes strangely revealed a childlike innocence.

He should let go. The other person's unknown illness had subsided, and it was inappropriate to continue holding him like this. It involved issues of interpersonal distance and courtesy - but he didn't.

He just quietly embraced his nemesis, his puzzle, his... professor, as if he were embracing a child, until the morning light shone through the crack in the door, dividing the face of the person in his arms into a clear boundary between light and dark.

…

When Nova opened his eyes again, it was already daylight. He thought he would feel sore in his back and feel dazed, but he was actually fine - except for some numbness in his hands and feet, he felt surprisingly energetic.

Azuka was packing her luggage, and when she saw him wake up, she gave him a bright, dazzling, gentle smile.

"Good morning, Professor." The God-Favored One seemed to be in a good mood. "Did you sleep well last night?"

"...Good morning, I'm fine." Nova looked away expressionlessly.

The captain and his wife were cooking fish while the other was mending their nets. Little Martha had already woken up and was sitting on the bed, looking timidly and curiously at the two beautiful strangers in the house, while she carefully grasped the thin blanket that belonged to the God-favored One.

By this time of year, the fishermen should have returned from fishing long ago, and all the good fish had been sold out, leaving only inferior fish for nearby residents to bargain over.

But Fishtail Street was eerily quiet at this moment. There was no whistle of a ship, no voices of people coming and going, no shouting or arguing - until a creepy, shrill scream pierced the fishy air, followed by a burst of exclamations one after another.

Captain Scarpo rose to his feet with a start.

"I'll go check it out, you guys stay home."

Azuka walked over to the professor and suddenly narrowed her eyes. The captain left for a short while, then returned. He closed the door, his face pale, and stared at everyone in the room with a terrifying look, his lips trembling.

"What's going on outside?" asked the captain's wife anxiously.

"...It was Benny's woman, Los," Captain Scarpo whispered. He glanced at little Martha, stepped forward and covered the girl's ears. "She held the child and set herself on fire, right there on the street."

Benny was the porter who was taken away by the sheriff a few days ago. He only had his wife and baby son at home.

"I saw them lying motionless on the ground, all charred and black, and reeking of burnt blubber—I thought they were dead."

"Oh my Poseidon--" The captain's wife suddenly covered her mouth and tears burst out.

For Poseidon's followers, death by fire was the most horrific form of death. The sea god Odres detested the fire god Fal, and extremely devout followers would even pray before opening fire. Many jurisdictions burned captured pirates at the stake, believing that the souls of Poseidon followers who died in flames would be trapped in the magma beneath the sea, never to rest in peace.

There is only one reason why a follower of the sea god would choose to burn herself - she wants to curse someone, at the cost of eternal soul burning.

The crowd surged onto Fishtail Street. They huddled together silently like ants, three layers deep, surrounding the two charred bodies, one large and one small, tightly embraced. Aside from their screams, the mother and son left no words for the world, but everyone knew who the other was cursing.

“——Fight with them!”

Someone in the crowd roared the first roar.